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Gardiner Expressway: Developer First Gulf comes up with new compromise

City committee defers a decision on the fate of the eastern expressway, in part to explore a developer’s proposal that would realign its connection to the Don Valley Parkway.

The red line represents the proposed realignment of the Gardiner Expressway's eastern end, to connect it to the Don Valley Parkway. The long loop east of Cherry St. and extended ramp to Lake Shore Blvd. would come down.

The red line represents the east end of the Gardiner Expressway as it exists today.

Toronto’s public works committee is exploring a surprise proposal by a private developer to maintain a section of the elevated Gardiner Expressway east of Jarvis St.

That proposal, by David Gerofsky, CEO of First Gulf, would see the section of the expressway east of Jarvis realigned and moved to just south of the railway corridor, where it would continue east and loop up to connect to the Don Valley Parkway.

The current elevated section east of Cherry St. would be taken down and replaced with a grade-level boulevard. Both moves would free up development space.

Committee members at a meeting Tuesday asked staff to explore the option and voted to defer a decision on a city staff report, which recommended removing the section altogether, a proposal that resulted from a months-long environmental assessment by the city and Waterfront Toronto.

“Waterfront Toronto approached (the EA) from the outset with wanting to take the Gardiner down,” said Councillor Peter Milczyn. “All the urban design aspects of that I’m good with.”

But “the issue about the delays and additional congestion — that was never fully addressed,” said Milczyn, who is not a committee member but attended the meeting to support the realignment.

“Here you have an example of a credible proposal that helps us get a great boulevard, helps open up the waterfront, the Port Lands, and still maintains capacity and connectivity,” he said. “And it wasn’t reviewed through the EA. I think it’s something we should do.”

The environmental assessment considered several options, including maintaining the crumbling section of the road, replacing it with a new expressway or removing it in favour of a ground-level boulevard. Realigning the elevated expressway was never on the table.

First Gulf would like to see the eastern Gardiner come down so that it has access to the old Unilever site on Lake Shore Blvd. at the base of the Don Valley. The developer is proposing to build 15 million square feet of office space there, enough to house 70,000 workers.

In return, First Gulf would allow the city to extend Broadview Ave. through the Unilever property south to the Port Lands, providing for the future expansion of the streetcar line, which is under study as part of a master transportation plan of the area. The developer would also build a GO station there.

Gerofsky hired the well-respected Toronto consulting firm BA Group to come up with the realignment proposal, which is also supported by former TTC chair and mayoral candidate Karen Stintz.

Several community members told the committee that removing the elevated highway was vital to developing the waterfront, a view shared by Waterfront Toronto and city staff.

But industry representatives expressed concerns about the estimated five to 10 minutes of extra travel time that would result from bringing down the eastern Gardiner.

Andrew Judge, manager of logistics and customer service for Redpath Sugar on Queens Quay, told the committee the Gardiner was a “critical route” for delivery trucks and that even a 20-minute delay would significantly affect the supply chain.

Paula Fletcher, one of many councillors who voiced concerns about congestion, supported a study of the proposed realignment.

Fletcher said the Gardiner EA was conducted in a bubble, without consideration of other traffic factors, including a pilot project this summer for dedicated bike lanes on Richmond and Adelaide Sts., and the TTC’s new streetcar facility at Leslie St. and Lake Shore Blvd. E.

John Campbell, CEO of Waterfront Toronto, said he wasn’t disappointed the committee has delayed a decision until 2015.

“Let’s make sure we get all the facts,” said Campbell. “I think the councillors are sensing that traffic congestion seems to be the core issue.

“So let’s look at ways of mitigating it both for the remove option, and at the same time have a look at the maintain-replace kind of hybrid” option floated by First Gulf, he said.

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